


Thunderstruck

by misura



Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Sparring
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 13:21:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29351103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misura/pseuds/misura
Summary: Like, shit, Chuck'd be the first to admit that the thought of pulling off the Thunder Cloud formation himself rather than watching three other guys do it was pretty cool, but if partnering up with these two was what it was going to take ... nope. No way. Not going to happen.(spoiler: it totally is going to happen)
Relationships: Raleigh Becket & Chuck Hansen & Mako Mori
Comments: 6
Kudos: 15
Collections: Chocolate Box - Round 6





	Thunderstruck

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lets_call_me_Lily](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lets_call_me_Lily/gifts).



"Ray. You going to make a move, or is your brilliant plan to just stand there and stare at me?"

Chuck twirled his jo stick. Raleigh alone (sure, he knew the guy's real name: didn't mean he had to use it), he might have taken: Miss Mako Mori, likewise, no matter what the Marshal might like to believe.

The two of them together ... well, nothing wrong with being a bit cautious.

"Please," Raleigh said, dipping his stick slightly, like that was going to tempt Chuck to make a move. "Ladies first. I insist."

Mako sniffed, though Chuck was pretty damn sure it hadn't been _her_ Raleigh'd been referring to.

"Insist all you want, Ray." Maybe he was wearing out that particular trick: Raleigh barely seemed to respond any more. "Doesn't mean a thing now, does it? You're not the boss of me."

What Raleigh might be, was Chuck's new Drifting partner. Along with Mako, which - all right, Chuck supposed he could think of worse partners, assuming she'd learn how to control herself, and that Raleigh'd learn how to be any actual good, and then maybe Max would learn how to fly and they'd all be home safe and sound in time for New Year's.

Like, shit, Chuck'd be the first to admit that the thought of pulling off the Thunder Cloud formation himself rather than watching three other guys do it was pretty cool, but if partnering up with these two was what it was going to take ... nope. No way. Not going to happen.

Mako said something snappy in Japanese, which Chuck didn't speak. Which was probably the point.

Raleigh chuckled, likely (Chuck told himself) because Mako had told him to pretend she'd said something funny. About Chuck. Like those kinds of cheap tricks were going to work on him.

Mako feinted left - too slow to be a real attack, and Chuck thought, _amateur_ as he blocked Raleigh's attack.

"So I guess you're not all talk, sweetcheeks," Raleigh said, backing away, positioning himself to defend Mako - or to have Mako defend him, if Chuck went the other way.

Last time Chuck checked, the idea had been to make this a free-for-fall, one-against-one-against-one, but clearly, neither Raleigh nor Mako had gotten that memo. Which meant this was all stupid, really, and pointless, and useless, and look, Chuck had given it a fair shot, he really had, mostly because his old man had told him to, but any idiot could see this wasn't going to work.

"It's still zero-zero," Mako said, moving away from Raleigh.

Chuck might slip into the space she'd opened up, maybe score a hit on whichever of them would be most vulnerable once he got there - or it might be a trap.

It would be humiliating to be the first one to get scored on. The Marshal was watching, and Dad, and pretty much everyone else who had nothing better to do, and Chuck had no intention of becoming some sort of laughing stock.

Raleigh grinned, sudden and sharp and so obvious it made Chuck want to hit him, which happily was already the plan, so no trouble there.

Only problem was, Raleigh seemed to be going for Mako rather than Chuck.

"What's this, scared to take on the real deal?" Chuck said, already moving to block, knowing Mako'd have his back the same way he had hers; they'd back Raleigh into a corner and then -

"Point," someone called out, and Chuck stared down his stick at Raleigh, who was still grinning, like Chuck hadn't just showed him who was the superior pilot here, and who should have stuck with working 'construction'.

Mako nodded once, sharply, and Chuck wanted to nod back, to agree that yeah, all right, he didn't mind a bit of help in beating Raleigh - not that he needed any, but, well, a pretty girl offered, you didn't say 'no'. His old man'd raised him better than that.

And hey, there was a thought: him and Dad and -

"Point."

\- and he was lying on the mat, looking up, Raleigh staring down. "You all right there, champ?"

Chuck supposed 'champ' was better than 'sweetcheeks'. "Me? Oh, I'm peachy."

Raleigh tapped him lightly on the chest. "You know, not that I don't appreciate you making this easy for me, but in a real fight, it's not a great idea to get all distracted. You get me?"

"He wasn't distracted," Mako said. "You are quicker. Better."

Raleigh held out a hand to help him up. Chuck accepted it, too busy glowering at Mako to really think about it. Besides, it didn't mean anything, did it? Mako smiling as if she knew something he didn't, now _that_ meant something, namely that Chuck wasn't going to be a gentleman any more.

He was going to beat her, show her how big the difference between an experienced, skilled pilot and a rookie with more enthusiasm than talent was. Raleigh'd have his back, not that Chuck needed him - or anyone, ever. Only person he'd ever needed was himself, and he liked it that way.

He liked knowing he was quicker, better -

"Point."

Raleigh moved back to Mako's side, and Chuck tried not to feel abandoned, let alone betrayed. Wasn't even a real fight: they were only playing, trying to see if the three of them stood any kind of chance piloting Crimson Typhoon now that one of the triplets had landed himself in medical.

Chuck tried not to think about why that was, about the sensation of utter and complete helplessness, of being capable of nothing more than watching, waiting, hoping ... itching to get into the fight, to do something, to kick some ass the way he knew he could, if only the Marshal would okay it.

The Marshal hadn't, though, and now here they were, with one valuable Jaeger out of commission, unless Chuck somehow figured out how to get along with two idiots who hadn't even managed a simple weapons test. Sad, really, that it had come to this, to him and Raleigh and Mako and -

"Think that's another point, mate," Raleigh said. "You sure you're not letting me win here?"

"Only trying to lull you into a false sense of security, mate," Chuck said, telling himself to get his head in the game already. Plenty of time to consider Raleigh's many faults later.

"You sure it's false? 'cause from where I'm standing, it's looking pretty real."

Chuck stepped back, feeling Mako slide into a defensive position behind him, ready to take on Raleigh as soon as he went for Chuck again - which he would; anyone with eyes could see that much.

They'd be ready, though, and then they'd see who was lulling whom in a false sense of security.

"You don't hold back, do you?" Raleigh asked. He'd taken off his sweat-soaked shirt, the better to show off his bruises.

Chuck wondered if he was supposed to feel guilty, or if this was merely a ploy to solicit sympathy from Mako, who was definitely looking.

Granted, Raleigh had some muscles. Construction work would do that to a man, Chuck supposed.

"Yeah, holding back's not really my thing, sorry." Chuck grinned, to show how sorry he was. "What can I say, if you can't handle the heat, don't stand so close to the fire."

Raleigh took a step in his direction, less like he wanted to start something and more like he wanted to get up in Chuck's face and annoy him a bit, see how far he could push before Chuck'd lose his temper.

"No, no, it's cool," Raleigh said. "You see? This is what partners do. And we are partners now, aren't we?"

Chuck realized part of him wanted to deny it. Part of him didn't, though. Part of him wanted to find out what it would be like, to have Raleigh and Mako in his head, and to be in their heads in return, to get to know them as well as any human being could get to know another, and to be known in return.

Part of him wondered if Raleigh would still grin at him like that if he knew all of Chuck's thoughts, if Mako would still have his back if she knew ...

"Hey," Raleigh said, hugging him like they were friends already, like he was already in Chuck's brain.

"We're going to kick some ass," Mako said, and then she was there too, right in the middle, and Chuck realized that it had been stupid to worry: he was a great pilot, and Raleigh was an okay one, and Mako'd scored 51 kills on the stimulator.

"Well, I ditched my old man for you two, so we'd damn well better," Chuck said.

Raleigh grinned, then stepped back. "C'mon. Let's find some ice to put on your bruises."

"My bruises? Your bruises, you mean."

Mako sighed. "I'm sure we can find enough ice for all three of us."


End file.
